National clean-up exercise: Agona West Assembly imposes fine on recalcitrant shop operators

The Agona West Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) has announced that the Assembly will impose a punitive fine of GHS 500 on shop and store operators who failed to participate in the two‑day nationwide sanitation exercise jointly undertaken by the Assembly and the Swedruman Council to tidy the Agona Swedru township.

He expressed disappointment that some shop and store operators within the Central Business District were among the major contributors to refuse dumped into gutters, unauthorized locations, and high streets — practices that breed mosquitoes and worsen sanitation conditions in the Municipality.

According to the MCE, the GHS 500 fine is intended to serve as a deterrent to operators who may refuse to participate in future sanitation exercises expected to be organized in the coming months.

He noted that the two‑day nationwide cleanup exercise declared by former President John Mahama was a step in the right direction following the devastating floods that affected seven regions, including the Central Region.

The MCE urged residents, particularly shop operators, to stop dumping refuse into gutters and unauthorized public spaces, stressing that such practices must be completely discarded.

He described as worrying the sight of takeaway packs, black polythene bags, and other garbage choking gutters across Swedru.

Mr. Odoom called for an outright attitudinal change regarding how residents dispose of refuse indiscriminately in the township and surrounding communities.

He revealed that the Assembly spends huge sums of money on sanitation, adding that these colossal amounts could be redirected to more relevant development projects if residents adhered to proper waste management practices.

The MCE further disclosed that the Assembly has begun a door‑to‑door refuse collection system to ensure environmental cleanliness in residential areas. He added that procurement processes were underway to acquire dustbins to be placed at vantage points across Swedru and other towns in the Municipality.

He tasked Assembly Members to collaborate with opinion leaders, chiefs, and various tenant associations to keep their electoral areas clean and promote a healthy environment.

The MCE commended personnel from the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, nurses, bankers, the Births and Deaths Registry, chiefs, and many others for their massive turnout during the two‑day exercise.

Mr. Mac Dzodzodzi, the Agona West Environmental Health and Sanitation Officer, described the two‑day sanitation exercise declared by the President as a timely wake‑up call for residents to keep their surroundings clean.

He disclosed that the Assembly has deployed a sanitation taskforce to identify shop and store operators who failed to participate and summon them before the authorities to explain their absence.

Mr. Dzodzodzi noted that the major challenge facing the Assembly in sanitation management is attitudinal, stressing that behavioural change is needed to reduce the massive tonnes of garbage generated daily in the Municipality.

Mr. Emmanuel Kwesi Lincoln, former NDC Chairman for Agona West, praised President John Mahama for declaring the two‑day sanitation exercise and commended participants for their impressive turnout.

He urged residents, especially shop and store operators, to stop sending errand boys to dispose of their refuse, explaining that some of these boys dump the waste into gutters and unauthorized places after collecting a few cedis — a practice that worsens the sanitation situation in the Municipality.

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